Elephant Tank
"Mother Russia is like an Elephant. She is big, grey and never forgets anything." :- Elephant Tank Driver Tactical Analysis *'Are you ready?': The Elephant Tank dates back to the Second World War, and now serves the Soviets once more, in the role of a mobile command post. With extremely thick armour, the Elephant can withstand quite a bit of damage. *'Nothing in our way': Despite its age, the Elephant is still a monster on the battlefield, capable of laying waste to anything within range, with old but still mighty twin 350mm cannons. In a pinch, the Elephant can switch from its 280mm cannons to its many Katyusha rocket launchers, allowing to better deal with those pesky smaller enemies. *'It won't be long': The Elephant has a horrendously slow top speed, and without a turret, it can be easily flanked. Also, without modern explosive shells, it's best kept behind the front lines. *'Make it worth my time': The Elephant is a rare sight on the battlefield, as the Soviets rarely ever deploy without these tanks carrying important Soviet commanders. Should one of these behemoths be destroyed, Soviet Command will consider whatever battle it was participating in to be a complete loss, as thier command strucutre has just been decapitated and it's best to cut thier losses. Operational History Premier Stalin was not a large man. Standing at five foot five inches, he, like many historical dictators, had something of a disparity between the size of their ambitions and the size of their bodies. And, like these dictators that preceded him, Stalin made an effort to surround himself with the very large by way of compensation. He could not turn down any project grand enough in scale; massive monuments, huge skyscrapers, and endless military parades. Thus, it was not surprising that Stalin pushed through the T-39 Superheavy project, which he carefully named after himself. Going by the old truism "Bigger is Better" (a motto that now graces the front entrance to Arkhangelsk Tank Plant) the designers of the new Josef Stalin tank aimed to build the largest and most powerful design in the world. Beginning with a more modest aim of 900 tons, demands from Stalin and access to battleship-grade weaponry led to the final design weighing in at 2100 tons tons. Equipped with twin 330mm cannons, each set deep into the hull and extending twenty feet in front of the tank, the JS-1 "Elephant" was big enough to crush lesser tanks under its tracks and armoured enough to resist even the largest of anti-tank or even naval guns. Crewed by twenty-one men (Commander, sub-commander, three drivers, eight gunners, four point defense gunners, two engineers and two rocket operators) the Elephant served as a mobile command post as well as an artillery piece, battle tank and rolling fortress. Though a gas-guzzling, slow monster of a vehicle, the Elephant was impenetrable to the best anti-tank weapons of the time and could destroy even the robust British Armadillo in a single shot; along with every Armadillo in its company. However, it was marred by a great many restrictions; pathetic range, lack of speed and lack of turret being the main concerns, not to mention difficulty maintaining the beasts. a hundred and twenty eight vehicles were manufactured between 1941 and 1946, until newer vehicles better suited for the roles it took replaced it. Nearly 20 years later, the Elephants sat mothballed, useless in modern war as a mobile fortress. However, during WWIII, a breakthrough with Soviet computers meant the smaller ones could be fit into a two story house, or indeed, a superheavy tank. Removing the machine gun posts left room inside for computers, radio equipment, and other modern features needed to command a battle on the field, though the old map system was still the favoured way. The 350mm cannons could still crush a lesser tank like an egg, no matter how modern, and even Peacekeepers fall to Katyusha rockets. Whenever the next war comes, everyone is sure the mighty Elephant, back from retirement, will lead the many tank columns of the Soviet Union. Behind the Scenes The Elephant Tank was a suggestion from Psychotic Loner, based on lore earlier written by Open Sketchbook. It is probably based on the proposed Nazi P1000 Ratte tank, a similar tank proposed as a warwinner that Hitler fell in love with in World War II. Category:Units Category:VIPs Category:Units Originating from Russia